Hitachi Zosen Inova to Build Istanbul’s First Energy from Waste Plant

Europe’s largest energy-from-waste plant for municipal solid waste is to be built in Istanbul. The turnkey contract, together with one-year operation has been awarded to the Swiss company Hitachi Zosen Inova together with its Turkish partner Makyol. The plant will process 1 million tonnes of waste per annum generating around 70 MW of electricity.

The development of the project to construct an energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in the Turkish capital of Istanbul took several years. The signing of the contract on September 11, 2017 between the client Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), and a consortium comprising Swiss cleantech company Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) and the Turkish construction firm Makyol, signals the start of the execution phase. Beside the design and construction, the contract covers also the operation and maintenance of the turnkey plant for at least one year.

This first EfW plant for municipal solid waste in Turkey will also be the largest of its kind in Europe and will be located close to Istanbul’s new airport in the northwest of the city. From 2021, its three incineration lines will process around 15% of the city’s municipal solid waste every year, generating around 70 MW of net electricity.

In addition to HZI’s extensive array of references worldwide, the technical aspects above all were decisive for IMM in awarding the contract. Istanbul is HZI’s first project in Turkey. “The region has enormous potential in the area of EfW,” said HZI CEO Franz-Josef Mengede, adding: “As an international company, we are proud to have achieved this key milestone in waste management in Turkey together with our partner, thus paving the way for further EfW projects going forward.”

Adding Value Locally
Besides supplying electricity, the new plant will also deliver added value for the region economically: more than a fifth of all components will be produced by local businesses, while all of the work in connection with the construction will be carried out exclusively by local workers.
With the realisation of this prestigious project another region devotes itself to an ecological and sustainable waste management system and thus contributes to the worldwide decarbonisation and the reduction of other harmful emissions.